Transmitted information may include data represented by symbols. Such symbols may be sampled with a data slicer of a receiver at a sampling position set in a phase interpolator of such receiver. However, such sampling position, namely at an interpolated phase sampling point, may be less than desirable due to an asymmetric data eye (“eye”) and/or a sampling phase position that is not one-half of a period T (i.e., 180 degrees) of an eye away from a corresponding data crossing (“d×d”). An eye may be asymmetric for any of several reasons, including without limitation precursor inter-symbol interference (“ISI”). Variation from a T/2 sampling position from a d×d may be due to any of several reasons, including without limitation layout and/or routing mismatches.
Hence, it would be desirable and useful to provide sampling position tuning that overcomes one or more of the above-described limitations. “Sampling position” is sometimes referred to as “sampling phase”, and thus sampling position tuning may be include “sampling phase optimization”.